I bought this a few months ago when it was released and I don't regret it single bit, by far the best language learning software I've ever used. If you've never learnt any Japanese or are currently studying, this is a fantastic tool that beats any text book hands down.

Basically it's set out into hundreds of 10 word lessons, you go through the lessons and unlock new ones as you gain mastery of the old. Mastery is gained through flash cards/quizzes and other game type supplements to test your knowledge of the words, sometimes just through sound, sometimes just through kana and at the beginingg through romaji.

The lessons also go through all hiragana and katakana, allowing the use of the DS screen to guide your drawing of the characters/words and teach your correct stroke order. There are games that go along with this also, like it will tell you to draw Ko (Hiragana) and then you draw it on the screen, etc.

It also has a built in electronic dictionary.
Romaji > English.
Kana > English
English > Romaji
English > Kana

I've done a few Japanese courses at university and this is just as good, I mean sure it's probably better to have a classroom environment and a few people willing to learn to practice with, but other than that it's on par.

Ubisoft have just released My Japanese Coach, a new language learning title for the nintendo DS.

Now I'm pretty excited, there's a lot of Japanese language games, but no others to my knowledge that were actually made for English speakers.

Haven't had the chance to give it a go yet, but I'll be sure to pick it up at the shops if I see it.

Learn Japanese in a fun and interactive way:
Using carefully structured lessons that guide the player through vocabulary and calligraphy exercises.
The basic pronunciations unique to the Japanese language.
Use the Nintendo DS stylus to write Japanese Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji Characters.
Entertaining and relevant mini-games – play through a series of fun and informative mini-games that reinforces the lesson content for the player.

* Explore Japan as each point of interest opens up your vocabulary
* Learn to pronounce sounds unique to Japanese by comparing your voice to a native speaker
* Develop your calligraphy skills as you trace over animations showing the proper way to write in Japanese
* Participate in mini-games that will test your grasp of the structured lessons featured in the game
* Use the built in reference tool to look up useful words and phrases

I bought this a few months ago when it was released and I don't regret it single bit, by far the best language learning software I've ever used. If you've never learnt any Japanese or are currently studying, this is a fantastic tool that beats any text book hands down.

Basically it's set out into hundreds of 10 word lessons, you go through the lessons and unlock new ones as you gain mastery of the old. Mastery is gained through flash cards/quizzes and other game type supplements to test your knowledge of the words, sometimes just through sound, sometimes just through kana and at the beginingg through romaji.

The lessons also go through all hiragana and katakana, allowing the use of the DS screen to guide your drawing of the characters/words and teach your correct stroke order. There are games that go along with this also, like it will tell you to draw Ko (Hiragana) and then you draw it on the screen, etc.

It also has a built in electronic dictionary.
Romaji > English.
Kana > English
English > Romaji
English > Kana

I've done a few Japanese courses at university and this is just as good, I mean sure it's probably better to have a classroom environment and a few people willing to learn to practice with, but other than that it's on par.

I for one disagree with your opinion. I think this "game" is better used as a supplement to learning Japanese. A classroom setting or simply speaking to another person in a language you are learning stimulates your brain much better than if you were to try and lat a game rate your understanding of the language. This is a useful little tool, but it can't replace a study in the language itself.

I bought this a few months ago when it was released and I don't regret it single bit, by far the best language learning software I've ever used. If you've never learnt any Japanese or are currently studying, this is a fantastic tool that beats any text book hands down.

Basically it's set out into hundreds of 10 word lessons, you go through the lessons and unlock new ones as you gain mastery of the old. Mastery is gained through flash cards/quizzes and other game type supplements to test your knowledge of the words, sometimes just through sound, sometimes just through kana and at the beginingg through romaji.

The lessons also go through all hiragana and katakana, allowing the use of the DS screen to guide your drawing of the characters/words and teach your correct stroke order. There are games that go along with this also, like it will tell you to draw Ko (Hiragana) and then you draw it on the screen, etc.

It also has a built in electronic dictionary.
Romaji > English.
Kana > English
English > Romaji
English > Kana

I've done a few Japanese courses at university and this is just as good, I mean sure it's probably better to have a classroom environment and a few people willing to learn to practice with, but other than that it's on par.

I for one disagree with your opinion. I think this "game" is better used as a supplement to learning Japanese. A classroom setting or simply speaking to another person in a language you are learning stimulates your brain much better than if you were to try and lat a game rate your understanding of the language. This is a useful little tool, but it can't replace a study in the language itself.

I pretty much say that in the last paragraph?
Calling it a "game" is kind of superficial, it's just as good, if not better than any text book. It's always more productive to learn in a classroom environment, but not everyone has access to/wants to do that.